Eris' Story
by magsofthemuses
Summary: Before he was Seiya she was Sailor Star Fighter, and before that..? She was a little girl.


_A long time ago on a world far, far away..._

Eris had once asked her mother what the day of her birth had been like. Her mother had laughed and said her father had fallen to his knees and cried his thanks to the Gods for finally blessing him with a daughter. One of her brothers had scoffed and said it was too bad then that she'd been born so ugly and without any manners. That had resulted in a tussle so fierce their mother had had to ban them to separate parts of the house for the rest of the evening.

Eris, six years old and a late in life joy as the youngest child to Maisa and Phollo of the planet Surya; First World to the Royal planet Kinmouku. Eris' three elder brothers were old enough to be busy with school and life away from home that she sometimes felt like an only child.

It was the winter holidays and everyone was home for the first time in months. Her eldest brother had even brought a girl to meet the family; very pretty but boring, Eris thought. The poor thing mostly clung to her brother's side looking bewildered.

Evid, her second brother, always had amazing stories. He had decided to follow their father into the military and had gotten to travel to Kinmouku for training. Before father had been crippled (in a battle before Eris had been born - doing what exactly her parents had refused to elaborate on) he'd been a very prominent figure and his name had pushed Evid through the ranks very quickly.

"Will you go back to Kinmouku?" Eris asked from the floor at her brother's feet.

"Probably, I'm hoping to get a posting to the palace. Maybe even close to Princess Kakyuu!"

"Did you see a lot of aliens?" Eris' eyes were shining.

"Yeah, all sorts. Some were so strange looking you wondered what their homeworld must be like or how they evolved at all."

"Eris, go help your father in the kitchen," her mother gently interrupted. She was busy lighting the candles in the windows, a winter tradition to help the souls of those lost in battle find their way home.

Eris skipped back to the kitchen where her father was filling the last of the communal plates with food.

"Papa, what can I do?" she asked.

Her father shifted off his stool, his false leg clicking loudly on the wooden floor. His mechanical claw-hand held a dish of steaming food out to her.

"Can you take this to the table? Don't run with it!" he quickly added. Eris made a face, spill dinner once and you sure paid for it.

It wasn't long before the entire family was settled at the long dining table. Her mother's hand resting in her father's remaining natural one. He leaned close and kissed her as she whispered 'thank you for dinner.'

Her brothers' were loud and rude as usual, the girlfriend was pasty with nervousness and her parents were laughing and glowing with pride at their family reunited. Plates quickly filled in an attempt to out stuff each other and randy tales started to become unfiltered as wine flowed. Their father finally had to put a cap on some of the more 'adult situations', nodding to Eris sitting on her legs trying to make herself taller to match her brothers. Evid ruffled her short dark curls and she made a face.

Eris had no idea this would be the last time she would see her family.

There was a loud banging at the front entrance and the room fell silent. Everyone should be home with family now to prepare for the Day of Dead (Eris' least favourite holiday - you weren't allowed to speak for a whole day). Who, by the Royal Hand, would be at the door now?

Her parents excused themselves to see to the door as everyone else remained silent at the table, straining their ears to hear what was going on.

"What?" their father roared, followed by a barrage of language Eris had never heard before. Her brothers were all white, none of them had heard their reserved father speak that way before.

Their mother came rushing into the room-

"Eris, go to your room!" she snapped.

Eris paused, her fork halfway to her mouth, "What did I-"

"Go to your room!" her voice was shrill. Terrified, Eris fled.

She lay on her bed staring at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity. Scared, unsure, had she done something wrong? She'd punched Kai at school but he'd deserved it and she'd already gotten in trouble for that and she truly couldn't remember doing anything else-

The door opened and her father walked in. His face was stony and lined with exhaustion. He looked so old, like he'd ages a thousand years since the table. It frightened her and her eyes began to burn with tears.

"Did I do something bad?" Eris croaked.

Her father patted his lap with his good hand and waited for her to crawl into his arms.

"Eris, you have not done anything but those people at the door are here for you."

"Why?"

"Because it turns out you are very special. Even more special than your mother and I realized."

Eris rested her cheek against her father's chest, listening to the steady _thump thump_ of his heart. Every night they'd sit like this while he told her a story before bed. It made her sleepy.

He swallowed hard, like there was something in his throat.

"Eris... You're going to have to go away for a while."

"Go away? I don't want to go away! I like it here! You tell them I want to stay here!"

"I know, beloved, but this is something out of my hands," her father took her chin in his good hand and gazed into her eyes, "You have a great destiny before you, one your mother and I could never have imagined."

Eris started to cry and the world started to blur around her. She loved her parents, her house, and the way things were. Now, with no warning, everything was being taken away from her.

In the main room the dinner, lovingly prepared by her father, sat cold and half-eaten as her brothers stood stony-faced and protective around their mother. Her elder brother's girlfriend clutched wide-eyed at his arm. Everyone's attention was fixed on the two Royal Guards and the person between them: a priestess. Eris had never seen one up close before, only at the Summer Festival and in her school books. Her tightly braided grey hair hung almost to the floor.

Her mother saw her and burst into sobs. Burying her face in her hands and behind her black hair.

The priestess, an almost grandmotherly-looking woman, smiled and knelt down before Eris.

"You must be Eris, I am Vishi. You're going to be staying with me for a while."

Eris hated her instantly.

"I can see in your eyes you've got your predecessor's spirit. I promise you're going to have quite the amazing adventure."

"Will we get to see her?" her father was still standing behind her. As if to remind the room that this was his daughter.

Vishi turned her smile, now growing stiff as if rusty from disuse, to her father. He was fixing her with a stare that had sent young cadets into sweats and nightmares. This woman didn't even blink.

"Unfortunately to truly embrace her destiny she must be removed from her past. Entirely. I know none of this is new information for you and I trust there will be no... Difficulties."

"No," her father shook his head. Finally leaving Eris he went over to his wife and laid a comforting arm around her shoulders. Her mother refused to look up.

Vishi held out her hand to Eris. She wanted to bite it. Maybe if she was bad enough they'd send her back. They wouldn't want her.

"Come along," she said cheerfully, taking Eris by the shoulders and steering her towards the door. Eris looked back at her family; her brothers were all unreadable, her mother was leaning heavily into her father's side. It was only her father who met her eyes and gave a long slow nod as if giving her permission to leave.

The two Royal Guards fell into step behind her and Vishi, blocking her family from view. Outside, down the long stone steps of her home, there were two more Guards waiting at a vehicle. In silence they ushered Eris inside and pulled away from the only world she had ever known.

Eris' mind was racing with plots as complicated as a six year old could muster. Thinking of all the trouble she could cause (which was a surprising amount) to get her sent away and _un_destined.

It wouldn't be long before Eris would cease to exist. Eris would simply be the daughter her parents had too briefly raised and the sister her brothers never mentioned again. That night as she closed her eyes in an unfamiliar room she still had no idea that the next morning she would begin her training to take her place as one of the Legendary Guardians; The Starlights.

**END**


End file.
